Red

This week in Graphic design we learnt about the popularity of the red, black and white colour combination in Graphic Design, and why it is so effective. Our task was to create posters for the New York City Ballet using these colours, photographs only, and no illustration.

This week in Graphic Design class, we learnt about the art movement, Constructivism. Many people consider it to be directly linked to Russian propaganda posters, but this was not Alexander Rodchenko’s intention when he was first creating his artwork in this style. Using constructivism in propaganda posters was actually used after, mainly because the geometric shapes, use of red, white or cream, and black, suited the messages they wanted to send out so well.

Our task for the lesson was to create an event poster in the constructivism style, and use the same colours. This was mine, and I chose to do a gig poster for one of my favourite bands, Deftones. This is not a real date for a gig, I entirely made this up for my task, and I used Adobe Illustrator.

This afternoon started with an introduction on the history of the ‘Keep Calm And Carry On’ design. I personally really like it when I first saw it, but as time has gone on, it has become more popular and is absolutely everywhere and everyone has created their own version. It has been a good year for Britain, first with the Diamond Jubilee and then the 2012 London Olympics, and over summer it had become fashion to have patriotic memorabilia, and accessories. ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ is a typically British design, and the slogan itself describes the majority of our nations outlook, we are a naturally reserved nation. Well compared to some other countries in the world, for example the U.S.

I was completely and utterly shocked to then find out that this poster design was in fact a propaganda poster designed to keep up morale and the nations spirits incase the German’s won World War II. ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’. When saying it with this in mind, it makes perfect sense. But what was upsetting to hear was the fact there is NO copyright. This is why so many people have created their own versions and used similar slogans like ‘Keep Calm and Eat A Cupcake’ etc. What’s worse is that the designer, who most likely long passed away, hasn’t earned a penny from this famous design. There is no record of who the designer was. There were also other propaganda posters of the same style to be used in the same way. These slogans were ‘Freedom Is In Peril, Defend It With All Our Might’ and ‘Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution’. Another interesting fact, is the font used in the original posters were created by the same designer specifically for the posters. The majority of the modern posters are in fact in Gil Sans because it is the nearest font.

I was channel flicking and I saw The Phantom Menace was on, and although I’m not the most hardcore fan, I do really enjoy all the Star Wars films. I love Natalie Portman’s character Padme Amidala. The costumes are astounding, and I especially like this particular silhouette.